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About DECC
Home to more than one of every five Americans, rural America has continued to struggle economically. This is due, in part, to rural America's reliance on production agriculture, which has experienced recent slumps due to low commodity prices and fluctuating fuel and other costs. However, it also reflects the difficulty of plugging rural America into the world's new digital economy. The electronic revolution holds the potential to dramatically change the landscape of rural America. For centuries, rural America has lagged in economic development largely because of its geographic proximity to the urban business centers that drive the economy. The electronic economy provides opportunities for interaction and the transition of rural businesses that does not hinge upon geographic location. However, for rural America to capitalize on the new economy, rural Americans must begin to understand the value of the electronic economy to them as entrepreneurs. Assisting rural America in tapping into e-commerce technologies is an excellent starting point because such technologies offer the best hope of closing the distances that have historically left rural communities behind. Strong e-commerce opportunities are expected in the coming years for small rural businesses. Increased competition among broadband (high speed data) service providers is expected to offer improved access for rural communities.
A USDA Fund for Rural America, Rural Community Innovation project, entitled "Diversifying the Economy of the Lower Mississippi Delta by Developing E-Commerce Businesses" is creating diversified economic opportunities for small agricultural and other rural businesses in the Lower Mississippi Delta by assisting in e-commerce business development. The project, nicknamed the Delta E-Commerce Connection or DECC, features a university model of a vertically-integrated agricultural enterprise that markets value-added products directly to consumers via an ecommerce format. The model is incorporated into a set of four educational training modules that relate e-commerce to rural entrepreneurs in a practical fashion.